Surely every parent worth their salt has be a hypocrite to some extent? Teachers even more so. As such I would say the ability to be a hypocrite was a vital survival skill for the survival of the species.

To say that hypocrisy is not a part of every single one of us is hypocrisy... yes, that's certainly true. Teachers are forced to be hypocrites. Parents are forced to be hypocrites. Societal and social standards craft it as a natural mechanism more than the trait itself does.

Hence the phrase "Do as I say, not as I do" is common parlance.

The problem is not so much that everyone is a hypocrite - it is the consistency of the hypocrisy, and the blatantness of hypocrisy at the highest levels of the land that is the real problem, and the fact that nobody even seems to give a damn any more.

There was a time and a day when people felt a wee bit of shame when called out on hypocrisy. Now it is just the norm...and society is much worse for it.

As the OP points out, hypocrisy is a demonstrably ineffective way of living. SYnapse focuses on the obstruction of reason, but it also obstructs healthy emotional interaction, prevents effective leadership, and so on. Go read Steven Covey's masterpiece The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People or any other book by highly successful leaders. Integrity wins the day every time.

Integrity wins the day every time....which is why the United States is on the fast road to hell...

We have a government -- BOTH sides of the isle -- that consistently pass laws they refuse to apply to themselves...they state purposes for the actions (such as debt reduction) that are directly opposed by their actions...

I truly fear for future generations.

Actually, in the world, deceit reigns supreme. Integrity is for those who think they will win in the afterlife.

Show me a successful marriage based on deceit.
Show me successful parents who based their parenting on deceit.
Show me a person who has lived a long satisfying life, full of love and purpose, with a legacy of friends and family whose lives are better because he or she lived, who claims he achieved that long full life through deceit.

@flemgem: bill and Hillary Clinton

@ava - Bill and Hillary have a successful political alliance, not a successful marriage.

Damn, ava, haven't seen you around recently. How you been doing?

The thing about hypocrisy is that we are all hypocrites - it's actually inevitable, just like confirmation bias is inevitable.

So ironically, if you ever hear someone calling someone else a hypocrite, the accuser is compounding their own hypocrisy since it's a hypocrite calling someone else a hypocrite. Lol.

In my opinion the worst human trait is sloth, this is hypocritical considering I am the laziest person I know.

I wish I could work hard, but whenever I open a textbook, I can't read more then 1 line before turning on my computer and starting to play computer games or get into a political debate on some forum or watch random youtube videos.

I haven't gone to any of my classes (except for midterms) since October, and follow the due tomorrow do tomorrow philosophy on assignments.

I can't get out of bed before 2 pm (slept through 2 of my exams last semester, not surprisingly I failed both classes), and 9 out of 10 times I leave my bedroom its to go and get food or go to the bathroom. The other 1 time is to go drink with some friends.

I think there is little wonder as to why I am on academic probation.

I have frequently in the past stated that there is nothing more important then hard work, and I hate being slothful, but I'm not prepared to make any major lifestyle changes, lol.

@Fasces

Yeah, we know all about your absolutely disgusting lifestyle. I still seriously suggest you speak to a professional about it before you waste your entire life.

too much effort, lol. I would consider it, except my pride would get in the way (on the internet I am anonymous, so I speak my mind and say what I actually think without fear of repercussions, in real life, when around people I try my best to act normal. My friends may no I skip a lot of class, but they don't know I'm failing and about how little work I do.)

So, basically what you're saying is you'd rather throw your life away than let one person IRL know about your problem?

You reap what you sow, Fasces.

I disagree that parents and teachers must be hypocrites. That would only be true if they lied about their past or their habits. Merely to say that one should do X when you do not do X is not hypocrisy. It is merely a sad failure to live up to one's own standards.

Fasces this is for you:

http://alexvermeer.com/wp-content/uploads/howtogetmotivated-7100x5000.png

I hope you can turn your life around.

Fasces, yes, you need help. Your friends are going to figure out at some point that you've failed out and have a dead-end job (if any) while they are moving on to other things. They're not going to think, "Wow, that fasces was sure cool, he never had any problems."

Nobody even has to know you're talking to a counselor -- he sure as heck won't be allowed to tell anyone, and you don't have to either.

You have a lot of gifts, and as I think you already know on some level, the happiness and satisfaction that will come from achieving something real will blow away what video games and forums can give. You know what to do to begin making your life better, and it's not hard to do. Moreover, the reasons you've given for not doing it are BS. What are the real reasons?

Fasces you do realise that it's more fun to do real things than to simulate them right? For example instead of playing diplomacy, you could stage a coup and take over your nation!

@abgemacht I am busy soloing at life.

I am broke. If I am going to get a councillor I am going to need to ask someone for money. so thats 3 reasons:
1. I need money
2. Pride
3. Laziness

You don't need a councillor imo, there's no problem unless you're unhappy. Do whatever you want. The only problem comes when you complain that you have gained nothing, and it's your own fault.

Have you considered something like stickk?

I admit that its my fault and while I would like to do more, I don't have any motivation for some reason...

@Fasces - I would also suggest being checked by a physician. The emotional symptoms you present reflect someone with diabetes and/or thyroid issues. I knwo because I've been there. Soemtimes "sloth" and "depression" are medical and can be corrected through diet and possibly hormone therapy (synthroid/levothyroxine if thyroid) or sugar control.

@Fasces: I feel for you. I suffer from a similar predicament. I see it more as a lack of discipline than sloth however, for when I do get to work, when I actually set out to do something, I'm hard to stop.
It's getting it started and sticking to it that's hard. And that's a lack of discipline (which, granted, is a lot like sloth in some aspects). Sadly, aside from some very hard drugs, there is no way over that hurdle but dedication and a strong determination of the will.

Having said that, I think I need to haul my ass back to my papers and get back to work!

(By the way: I find that taking my work "out" of my office, where the computer and games are, is a good way to discipline myself. I allow myself to walk back in the office every hour or so, and just for a few minutes. It's not a perfect system, and I still do derail from it and spend more time than I should on social networks or here, but it does work much better than to pretend I can do work when my screen is softly calling my name... like a siren singing to Odysseus... )

@Cach - I foudn the way over that hurdle was to find a new position that I actually enjoy and that provides me with interesting challenges. In the personal life, this was a new house (well 50 year old, but new to me) that needed a lot of work but had a lot of potential so that I look forward to weekend int he shop working on it or the yard and seeing the change gradually take place. In my professional life, being a consultant again (albeit, salaried with benefits for my actual employer, but still developing for our customers) provides me with ever changing variety and challenges I didn't find in classic corporate life.

And in case anyone is wondering, I'm waiting for two customers to get back with me so I can push code changes up to them. I actually have nothing to do at the moment. It's a nice change of pace considering how things have been going since the first of the year. :-)

Draug: agreed.

When I'm teaching, it's never that hard to discipline myself. It's where research is concerned that I have more of an issue. So I've come to try and research my classes way more than I should so that I can get some papers and articles out of it. In that way, my courses are stronger AND I get to further my research much more effectively. Still not perfect (especially since I'm still seeking a tenured track position), but way more effective than what I used to do.

We also bought a new house a year ago, but it came all renovated... not much to do there.

Do you have a yard? There is *always* yard work to be done. I have almost 2/3rds of an acre of old farmland. Having been the orchard of the farm, it is kind of hilly but still has several ofthe now upwards of 100 year old pear and apple trees. So between riding the mower through spring, summer, and fall and planting/building around the edges, I stay very busy and enjoy the fruits of my labor: both the real ones from the trees and the visual ones from the flower beds and hopefully a tortoise pen this spring.

I sadly have bought a "town house", if you will, or a "condo". It's a nice decent size for a place in the city (2200 square feet), and we do have a " " yard " ", but certainly not anywhere comparable to yours. That being said, the wife and I do have some summer projects for that space. I've yet to manage to get grass to grow there, for example. Last summer's attempt was a catastrophe. I've now researched the matter further and interviewed a professional gardener, so I have good hopes!

I am not a hypocrit. In fact, I am humble. Further, I am proud of my humility;)

^ haha +1

intentional or not, that was gold

"@Fasces - I would also suggest being checked by a physician. The emotional symptoms you present reflect someone with diabetes and/or thyroid issues. I knwo because I've been there. Soemtimes "sloth" and "depression" are medical and can be corrected through diet and possibly hormone therapy (synthroid/levothyroxine if thyroid) or sugar control."
I don't think it has anything to do with diet because I have a twin who up until last year (when we moved to university) was eating the exact same food as me for almost every meal, and my sloth has been around for years, its just getting worse and worse every year.

I wouldn't so much as call it depression, its not like I am depressed and miserable. I just get huge anxiety whenever I have to confront my problems (whenever I talk to parents or friends about school, or whenever I leave my room to attempt to go to class) and so I try to avoid them for as long as possible. (by not talking or going to class)

"@Fasces: I feel for you. I suffer from a similar predicament. I see it more as a lack of discipline than sloth however, for when I do get to work, when I actually set out to do something, I'm hard to stop.
It's getting it started and sticking to it that's hard. And that's a lack of discipline (which, granted, is a lot like sloth in some aspects). Sadly, aside from some very hard drugs, there is no way over that hurdle but dedication and a strong determination of the will."
I guess you could call it that, though diligence does require discipline and so lack of effort and lack of discipline, regardless of the reasons behind it, is still sloth.

I find you very verbose and intellectually active for someone who's under a spell of sloth!
It's likely a combination of things, I'll grant you, and you just might be lazy every now and then. We all are, I'm sure. But the fact is: there are some activities where you don't suffer from your predicament as much. I'm willing to bet that those activities are generally without any important consequences for your life. Like Webdip, or arguing on the web, etc. So from that point of view, I'd like to think that your issue is not so much sloth, but your incapacity to plot a clear course for your future, the feeling that any performance properly lead to its term will somehow bind you and leave you incapable of choosing your own possibilities. And that, the stress of losing possibilities, becomes a burden that slows you down, makes you incapable of starting projects you once valued, or keeping up with them as you see the ramifications and implications...
Dude... If that's the case, then you suffer from a "high fidelity" complex! Go rent the movie, read the book, and get a good look at the illness. It also comes with possible solutions to your predicament.

I wouldn't say that. Granted I don't know what I want to be when I graduate, I already know what my major is (economics, though technically I don't declare it till next year, assuming I am still in university).

I just hate doing stuff that I have to do. Its rather hard to explain, even in courses that I enjoy, I still can't find a way to do any work. We talk about economics or politics here, I can type posts almost as long as obis. I have to write a paper on the exact same topic for a class, I can't write more then a single sentence.

That said, I am also sometimes a terrible procrastinator in things I enjoy, eg. I normally enter diplomacy orders last minute and will frequently miss phases. Obviously I love diplomacy, since if I didn't I wouldn't be on this site...

@fasces - Twin or no, it could still be medical. Thyroid problems have nothing to do with diet but can bring about that kind of sloth of which you describe. Always best to get it checked out.

I might check it out but again, talking to people in person about this stuff gives me anxiety and I can't really say, someone on the internet told me I have Thyroid problems can you check my blood for its t3 and t4 levels to see whether he was right?

Fasces,

This is what you do:

1) Set up an appointment with your family doctor
2) Tell him you have extreme anxiety that prevents you from functioning.
3) He will recommend treatment or a specialist.

Done.

Get the fuck over yourself and get help.

Fasces - just live the dream mate. Stressing about being a loser takes energy. Stop stressing and chill.

As for the procasternation, I'll have to come back to you on that, someone has just sent me a video of a cat playing the flute.

@Fasces - They can check it with a urine test nowadays.

@Draug: I thought it was just blood, in any case, still asking for a no questions asked urine test would be a bit odd...

@Maniac: Easier said then done, assuming I manage to get good grades despite my no work attitude (my lowest mark thus far this term is a 68 is sociology, so I may pass all my courses) what happens after university? Since I am on academic probation lets say I get kicked out of school, then what? Its not like my parents will let me play video games all day, and its not like I have the necessary skills to find a decent job.

I did work at starbucks for 4 months but I was a terrible barista, I was surprised I wasn't fired (I quit when I moved to waterloo).

Point is the reason why I am stressed is because one way or another this house of cards is going to come crashing down and after that I am fucked.

@Abge: Easier said then done, for difficult to explain reasons.

@Fasces - I was lucky and had a doctor who recognized the possibility and sent me to an endocrinologist who did the full battery and found the thryroid issue. So talk to a fucking doctor, you putz! :-)

"Integrity is for those who think they will win in the afterlife."

That's a great quote, Draug. Delightfully cynical.

My esteemed degree in Japanese e-psychology obliges me to say that fasces has a potential to develop a chronic case of hikikomori herbivore parasite single man. Considering he's not stupid, my advice would be to ask a friend or acquintance well-versed in networking for some career pointers - obligations and sloth don't like each other very much. Not to mention that a contact with an achieved opinion maker should energize him at least a bit, even if his body contains only negligible traces of ambition. Chilling in front of computer games is a respectable lifestyle choice but not in your mama's basement.